Carty 1

Summary of Tech Articles

The first paper that chose was, Essential Non-Technical Skills for Teaming, by Craig G
Downing of Southeast Missouri State University. I chose this paper because when doing research
I saw several articles about things that everyone thinks about, topics that are inside the technical
aspects of engineering. So, I thought that I would take this opportunity to explore topics that are
related to engineering but not directly under it, by summarizing this article.
This article begins by stating the fact that the world of engineering is changing and has
been changing for a while now, considering this article was written in 2001. I still believe that
the topics hold true today but are more of the expectation rather than the exception. The two
broader skills are advanced communication skills and the ability to work in teams. The top five
non-technical skills are split in this article into team-based and traditional (individual). The top 5
team-based skills from number 1 are, listening, decision making, verbal communication, problem
solving, and leadership. The top traditional (individual) skills are, listening, decision making,
problem solving, time management, and verbal communication skills. Next the article discusses
the top suggested changes to course curriculum if the institution does not already have them in
place the top 3 are as follows, create a senior design project that combines engineering theory
with real world and local applications, Require all teaching professionals to have a minimum of
3-5 years of industrial work experience prior to teaching, And lastly, Involve local and regional
to participate in the development of lab and classroom activities. I feel that the IET department
here at Morehead State does a fairly good job at teaching all of the skills listed above. The only
one that I would be unsure of would be the experience before hire, and the only reason being that
I do not know the background of all the instructors.

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The next article that I read titles Defining, developing and accessing global competence
in engineering by Jack R Lohmann, Howard A Rollins Jr., and J Joseph Hoey, of the Georgia
Institute of Technology. In this article discusses what engineers need to do to become
competent in the global engineering community. The first method of developing global
competence is by obtaining a Co-major or a dual major. The recommended majors are liberal arts
or institutional studies. I personally would add degrees such as business or computer science to
these majors as they are both versatile degrees. Also minors or certificates are good as well.
Another big thing that it mentions is simply international experience. Not only does this help in
getting a job, but most of us go through life seeing this planet from one perspective. A change in
that perspective can change the way you think of things, changing the way you problem solve.
In conclusion the article that I read was a little outside of the box of engineering, and
more about universal skills that will help you be a successful engineer, rather than topics in
engineering that you could study. The main things that I drew from both articles were to have
good communication skills (or work on them), be able to work in a team, and have something
different to bring to the table, or the interview. This could be international experience or having
another major. In short employers want more than just good ideas, but someone who can explain
those ideas and reference person experiences to do so.

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Work Cited

DOWNING, C. G. (2001). Essential Non-Technical Skills for Teaming. Journal Of Engineering

Education, 90(1), 113-117.
Lohmann, J. R., Rollins Jr., H. A., & Hoey, J. J. (2006). Defining, developing and assessing
global competence in engineers. European Journal Of Engineering Education, 31(1), 119-131.
doi:10.1080/03043790500429906